


Flowers for You

by purpleeyesandbowties



Series: now that we're free [4]
Category: EOS 10 (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sickening Fluff, Written for a Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 16:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7445206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyesandbowties/pseuds/purpleeyesandbowties
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone's favorite empathic botanist, Enoch, gets a visit from Ryan and Akmazian Dalias.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers for You

**Author's Note:**

> My half of the fluff-for-angst challenge I did with my pal Aria. The prompt "Ryan buying flowers for the anniversary of Ak's trial" was given to us by ohnoitsadalek (Rach). If you haven't read the amazing angst fic Aria wrote, without you (the flowers bloom), you should 100% do that. Enoch is an OC belonging to Aria. They are an empath, so that's fun for them (not), and they may be thinking about starting to have 'feelings' for a certain prince. Not that they'd admit it.

Enoch felt a surge of strong emotion approaching the greenhouses—emotion they recognized. They groaned in frustration and set down their shears. Pruning would have to wait, especially with those two lovesick and frankly overwhelming fools on their way. Enoch would be virtually useless, so long as they were around. 

Doctor Dalias and Akmazian burst into the greenhouse, hand-in-hand, skidding to a stop just inside the door. They collapsed against each other, wracked with giggles, as the door slid shut behind them.

Enoch forced the sappy smile off their face. Oh, _hells_ no. They were not going to be influenced by the hooligans. _Nope._

But then Ryan reached up to press his lips against Akmazian’s, silencing his giggle, and the smile crept back on Enoch’s face anyway. They shook their head, trying to snap out of it.

“What are you two doing here?” Enoch asked, the words coming out frustratingly chipper and fond. They repeated it, with a better approximation their usual rough annoyance.

Dammit. Empath or not, Enoch could usually block out another’s emotions enough that they weren’t physically affected. Containing it was harder when they had two to deal with, and these two in particular were nearly impossible to handle. One would think that they would get tired of being so damn in love all the time. But no. 

Ryan and Akmazian Dalias were two of a kind. Enoch caught backwash of their ridiculous, infectious, overwhelming love for each other whether they wanted to or not. 

It was fucking annoying. 

Still…. even if Ryan and Akmazian’s feelings weren’t shoved on them, they would still think the two were a cute couple. Cute enough to not immediately throw out of their greenhouse, disruptive as they were. 

Akmazian said something to Enoch, but they couldn’t concentrate on it through the rush of affection coming from Ryan.

“What was that?” Enoch said. 

Akmazian grinned and repeated himself, full of excitement and mischief. “We’re hiding. Jane, Levi, and Mrs. Dalias are looking for us— something about a party? Anyway, we decided it would be better to get away for the time being.”

“Jane did the party planning, Levi did the cooking, and my mother is my mother. You understand.”

Unfortunately, Enoch did understand. All too clearly. They nodded sympathetically, then caught themself.

“You can’t stay here.” Enoch said. It was rude, yes, but the two had barely been there for a handful of minutes and Enoch was already dizzy with pheromones. They would never be able to finish their pruning at this rate.

“Why not?” Akmazian asked. 

“Because—because—” 

Enoch scrambled to come up with a reason aside from _‘your love for each other is stupidly strong and I can’t concentrate on anything else while you’re around and it’s making me want to do something dumb like ask Arule Delatro Levithian III out to dinner and I really don’t want to think about why I want to do that’._

“Because I’ll throw you out for loitering!”

There. Good enough.

“Oh,” Ryan said. He slipped his hand from Akmazian’s and Enoch gritted their teeth against the disappointment and— dear lord— _loss_ they felt from Akmazian. What a ridiculous man. Without thinking, they grabbed Akmazian’s hand and shoved it back into Ryan’s. Both men raised their eyebrows at this, but didn’t say anything. Whatever. Their confusion and faint amusement spoke loud enough anyway.

“Well….what if we bought something?” Ryan asked. “Then we wouldn’t be loitering. I was going to buy flowers today anyway.”

“Fine,” Enoch snapped. They grabbed their shears and turned back to the poor tree they had been neglecting.

“What’s the occasion?” they asked grumpily. If the Daliases were going to be their customers, they would treat them like customers, dammit.

Ryan smiled at Akmazian and Enoch barely restrained themself from slamming their head against the tree. Gods _above._

“Well, it’s our anniversary,” Ryan said. “Flowers are a thing, right?”

“Anniversary?” Enoch repeated cautiously. It didn’t feel like a typical anniversary— both men sent echoes of discomfort mingled with relief and a strong conviction to not think too hard about whatever they were remembering. Not exactly normal for wedding feelings.

“The anniversary of my trial,” Akmazian filled in. Enoch frowned— had that really been a whole year ago? The sharp stabs of panic and the dark cloud of worry they endured in silence with Doctor Dalias for months felt a lot closer than a year ago.

Ryan nodded. “And our wedding anniversary, too. Though we had an ‘official’ wedding just a couple months ago. My mother insisted.”

Oh yes. _That_ day. Enoch remembered that day very clearly _._ (And, even more clearly, that night. Even on the other side of the ship, there was no escaping _those_ feelings. Not with these two. Enoch shuddered inwardly just remembering it).

Enoch forced a smile. “Congrats.”

“Thanks,” they said in unison, leaning against each other unconsciously. For fuck’s sake, _did they ever stop?_

Blessedly, after that, the two wandered off to peruse the flower selection, leaving Enoch in relative peace. Every step the couple took away from Enoch granted them a little bit of their concentration back. They sighed in relief, determined to get some work done in the reprise.

And then Dr. and Mr. Dalias started making out behind a tree.

“That’s _it_!” Enoch shouted. They stormed across the greenhouse and pushed the two lovebirds apart. (And just in time, too, because the first two buttons of Ryan’s shirt were already undone, _damn,_ those two worked quickly).

“Listen, I’m happy for you, I really am, but buy something and get the fuck out. I can’t fucking _think_ when you’re all over each other!”

“I—what?” Akmazian asked.

Enoch jabbed a thumb at their own chest, then jammed it into Akmazian’s. 

“Me? Empath. You? Distracting.”

“Empath? Then you—oh god.”

“Now he gets it!” Enoch exclaimed, throwing their hands in the air. Ryan flushed a brilliant shade of red. “Then you—you felt that we were…?”

“Getting frisky behind my trees? Yes. Yes, I did.”

Ryan squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Akmazian’s shoulder. Enoch huffed in annoyance.

“Your embarrassment is even more irritating. Just so you know.”

“Oh, god,” Ryan groaned.

—

The Daliases were on their way in under half an hour, bouquets of flowers in both their hands. 

(“I kinda like gettin’ flowers from you, darlin’,” Akmazian said, grinning at the bouquet Ryan picked out for him. 

“I like it, too,” Ryan returned, holding his own bouquet. Enoch did their best not to roll their eyes at the wave of sickly-sweet affection. Ryan caught their tiny movement and the affection soured somewhat into embarrassment).

Enoch waved them off a moment later, finally having found some humor in the situation— the mortified glances Ryan kept sending their way substituted very well for an apology.

“I really am happy for you,” Enoch said. “It just gets to be a little too much, sometimes, the amount you two… how strongly your feelings resonate.”

“We’re sorry for any discomfort we caused you,” Akmazian said. “Really.”

Enoch shrugged. “It’s not like you can help it. And honestly I wouldn’t want you to feel any differently. It’s….nice how happy you two are now. I mean, damn, I was there back when Akmazian was on trial. That was hell. I much prefer this.”

Ryan ducked his head, pleased embarrassment warming his and Enoch’s chests.

“Sorry again. And thank you. For the flowers and for….putting up with us.”

Enoch just gave him a tight smile.

“Enjoy your anniversary. Thank you for your business.”

Akmazian and Ryan left, hand in hand, taking some of Enoch’s best flowers and leaving an sort of emptiness behind. It wasn’t bad emptiness, just a kind of quiet ache in their chest. It was nice to just feel their own emotions for once, of course. But still….as the warmth of borrowed love leached from Enoch’s body, they felt a little sad. Lonely. Something flashed in their mind, something regarding that prince in the kitchen that, yes, Enoch still was refusing to think about. They would face that thought someday. But not now.

For now, they went back to their pruning with a soft smile on their face. They hoped Ryan and Akmazian would return soon, to buy more flowers.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sadhipstercat on tumblr!


End file.
